Week Without Walls - The ISD 9th Grade Experience

Last week we all spent our time outside our school's walls. It's important that we reflect upon those experiences. Reflection is an essential part of internalizing the significance of experience. So, take 10-15 minutes and reflect upon your trip, the group dynamics, the experience. What was meaningful to you? What was challenging? What did you learn about others? What did you learn about yourself? What did you learn about your peers? If you have any photos, upload one that captures your experience... Please write your name and underline it. Only write under your name. Do not write under your peer’s work. This is an informal, brainstorming, in-class writing task. What next steps do we need to take to further develop this writing? Read your peers work and consider how you can make it even more dynamic and compelling! - Mr. P A3John

Overall I feel the trip to Palmarin was a new, and amazing experience for me, and my peers. My favorite activity on the trip is most likely kayaking, and the walk in the mangroves. While kayaking me and Dylan saw how peaceful the mangroves are, and how clean and pure the area was. In the kayak we also saw a few birds, and a couple of fish swam by when we were drifting in the calm, and relaxed water. After kayaking for a while we stopped to visit a sacred place, the place we visited was an area with three large baobab trees, we learnt the stories behind them, and climbed inside one to make a wish for the future.

On the trip all of the guys shared one tent, in the tent there wasn’t a lot space, or privacy. Over

the five days I feel my personal bonds with some of the other freshmen increased, I now have a better relationship with my peer Olivia:

I went on the London theatre trip, and it was definitely one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. I know for sure that I want theatre and show-biz to be my friend. That means the trip was an opportunity I had to take advantage of. The workshops with professional actors meant a lot to me as I got a chance to work with people who have succeeded in the business.

The only challenging part of the trip was letting go and being bold. It only took me a short amount of time to rise to the occasion though. We ended up spending most of our time making street performances.

I feel like I got to know so many people that I’ve barely ever talked to before. I bonded with so many people and that was great. I learned not to judge people on what I’ve heard about them as well.

I learned that I’m capable of doing a lot of things if I just believe I can do them. I really think that was an important lesson to learn about myself, therefore I’m so glad I went on the London Theatre Trip. I honestly wish I could do it again.

Being crazy on the streets during the London Theatre Trip. Hannah:

Spending a week with my grade was a memorable experience, I was all able to get to know the others better and talk to people I had not spoken to much in the past. When we were not doing any activities we all went swimming or went to the beach together. During the bus rides if we weren’t all sleeping we would be talking amongst ourselves and using the time we had to get to become closer. One of our first activities was the fish dissection. I was surprised at how much fun Rhianna and I had cutting open a fish and discovering the organs inside! One of the funnest activities for all of us was the kayaking. We discovered which people could co-operate best together and control a kayak. Many people capsized and/or got lost but Rhianna and I were able not to do either and work well with each other! Oceane:

The trip at Sine Saloum was a really fun experience, because I learned a lot about the village and even about some people in my groupe, people whit who I didn’t talk a lot before. The goup dynamique was good and during the free time we hade a lot of fun at the beach and at the pool. My favorite activitie is when we went kayaking on the Mangrove. The only thing that I less like was when we hade to woke up at 5h30 in the morning to go see the birds, but in fact, we didn’t saw any birds so I was angry. We were slipping on a bungaloo so it was confortable. I learned more about about people whit who I did not speek much. It was a really good trip and if I had to returned to Sine Saloum I will say yes. Alex:

The trip to Sine Saloum was an amazing one, it was a trip with most of the 9th grade class, At first, i didn’t really expect anything special to come out of it, i wanted to go, and come back as fast as possible.Now that I think about it, I think it was amazing and fun, i wish it could have been for a longer period of time. We had a lot of free time and this helped us into knowing everyone more and I believe it was important for everyone. We visited the mangroves and many other interesting places. the countless landscapes we encountered were magnificent, even though it was for a short period of time, I think we really enjoyed it and it was a memorable experience. Filipa:

For week without walls I went to London. There were 15 students in the trip, some of us were best friends others were great friends, and others were just friends; however at the end of the trip were all really great friends. For this change to happen the group dynamic had to be great; even if we were not “bffs” we got to learn

others weakness and strength, and know when and how to help each other. For example, Anabelle and I were friends and then we got to room together in London, and now we are really close and we know each others weakness and strength, and we know how to help the other. Sometimes in this long trips people get a little tired of each other, but surprisingly in this one NO ONE was tired of someone, so we all got be friends and have fun until the end. The big purpose of the trip was theater and performance, so of course the highlights were the amazing workshops and the beautiful shows we watched. In every workshop we took something out of it, a lesson, a skill, or even a way to trick others. The shows gave us energy, experience, and a great amount of acknowledge towards theater actors. Since this trip I acknowledge theater actors so much more then cinema (I still love cinema, a lot,) because of all the work that is put in, and there can happen so many accidents on stage (and you still need to go on with it,) also I think it is beautiful in the end of a great shows (like Mamma Mia or Les Miserable) everyone applauding you. This trip was

definitely UNFORGETTABLE!! by: PipasCamposFerreira Alejandro:

Well, during the Sine Saloum trip, we experienced some challenging situations, like the kayaking trip, in which I learnt how important the group work is; for example, I was with Malik and like we had to work at the same time so the canoe would go in the same direction (we didn’t do that till half of the trip, before that we crashed a lot of times against the mangroves.) What most amazed me about this trip is how close we all can get to each other and how fun it can be if each one of us can put a bit of its own to make it better for everyone else. I found out that people I thought wasn’t cool is actually really cool and that you can be great friends with them, they will help you and they’ll be there as soon as you need them. And I found that it’s possible to have more than a few close friends, and it’s actually better to have more than one, because if one isn’t there when you most need them,

you can rely on others. Jean-Claude: Well, on the Sine Saloum (Palmarin) trip, we experienced lots of things, like living in Mauritanian tents for example. We all had a great time kayaking and watching the hyenas. It was a great trip even though i had i hurt my right foot since the first day we got there. In some cases, i can say it was a good thing i hurt my leg because it led me to new experiences and things i have never done before like going to a witch doctor so that he could take care of my foot. They call it witch doctor but i didn’t see how they call him a witch doctor because he looked just like a normal person but just that he pronounces some weird words. In any case, he actually helped my foot get a bit better because before i couldn’t walk at all but thanks to him it got better. We had lots of fun moment but i think the best for me was when we had the horse cart ride because at one point, we were like sort of racing and passing the others and we had to put our feet up most of the times because some part of the roads were small and there were spiky plants that could injure you. Amee:

On the trip to Sine Saloum, we all got to know each other a little bit better. Especially our roommates because we spent four nights together. I was really surprised to find out that some of the people I thought were quiet and a bit shy actually weren’t like that at all.

The most challenging activity we did was kayaking. Back in sixth grade, I made a decision that I would never kayak again because of an accident I had on a school trip to Thailand. Even though I was really scared to kayak again, I still did and I had a lot of fun. It was the best activity of the whole trip.

Something I learned about my peers is that there cannot be two days without any kind of drama happening. I also learned that people are very protective of their food. On this trip, I got closer to some of my friends, and got to know people I never talked to in school. I also learned about alot of artifacts from different villages in Senegal. I learned that people were very creative with technology, and most of the technology nowadays is the same as before just improved.

Overall, this trip was very memorable and very surprising. Kefrene:

Last week for the field trip, trip i went to Sine Saloume were I had the chance to Get to know most of my class as i am new to the school it was a great time to know my friends. Us The boys slept in a huge Mauritanian Tent, but inside the big tents were small beds were layed on the floor i had a one men bed the others slept in two’s. During the Day the school provided us food and activities my favourite activity was Kayaking, the most challenging activity i thought was the walk across the beach because the bus had to come back to Dakar from the place were we Kayaked we walked back to the hotel it took us about 1 hour.

The main thing i learned about my class mates was that they argue between each other, conflicts were very often although they argue allot they are fun to be with and cool. I learned during that trip allot about myself and my capacity of doing things because during that walk on the beach i had the courage and the energy to run it with malik and jean claude and it amazed me that i made it because i don’t like running that much. so I think this trip was an awesome expenrienced and helped others to see how people really are outside of school and teachers too u notice that they are really friendly and they are less strict.

In conclusion i loved this trip.

A4Gwenaelle:

I thought the trip was an awesome experience. We got to know each other better and I think we learned a

little bit more about the villages and about Senegal. I think we got to know everyone better because we were not just staying in out little friends group and we would stay with the whole class. We got a lot of free time which helped us too. I started talking to people that before that I would just say hello and see them at school. I think it was a good idea to do this because you see each other in a different way and you see how people are outside of school. I think we saw how teachers are outside of school too. And that they can switch their minds even if they stay with their students.

The activities were really fun I thought. The kayaking was awesome but not just that. We had some scary experiences too. Like when we were on the horses the back part of it broke and Audrey and Mariama were about to fall down. Me and Amee too. Other “interesting” experience was the fish dissection. It was really nice because everyone would go with the other to see how their fish looked and help each other to cut and see their fish. I thought when we went to the school was really impressing to see how many students per class they were and how to would learn with that many students. Also how their system worked. We really got the opportunity to talk to other people and see how they are. It was also a nice experience to get to know those girls who some of them are 17 but are still in 9th grade or even 8th grade. Their school only went until 10th grade and then it stopped so it was more girls around 13 and 18 that they had. Also the last day we were there Alex, Jay, Rhianna and me got lost on the deserted island. We suddenly appeared on the other side of it and we don’t even know how. We had to walk for about 2h to find our way back. Then we saw Mr. Scoggin who showed us the way back. Talking about walks, we had to do a 2h walk to go back to the hotel. The bus had left to pick up Sophie. It was really fun cause we made it shorter because we were singing all the way. Awesome times.

What I learned about my peers is that we could not stay 2 days without having drama/fights. I think the fact that we stayed 24/24 hours together at the end everyone was over reacting for every single thing and was mad at each other for everything. Other thing I learned is that people can really be different in school and outside school. It is not because that person is quiet at school that that person is like that always. Actually they were people who were totally different from normally. What I learned about myself is that sometimes I can overreact for stupid things and make a big deal about it. I think I also learned that sometimes (even if I never thought it would be like this) I need to be alone and just spend a moment alone thinking about what happened during the day and why it happened like that. I really think that this trip helped us to know others better but also to get to know better yourself.

Rhianna:

I think the week without walls trip was an interesting and exiting trip and I learnt a lot about my peers that I did not know before. I met new people and got to know some people more than I did before. I like the trip and think it was a good idea because it is a way for us to be together as a class outside of school, i think this is useful because in Dakar most people have their own little group of friends that they hang out with where as in Sine Saloum we were forced to be together. Before the trip I did not know Isatou or Sophie very well but as a result of being in the same room I now know them much better and have learnt that they are both very nice people. My favorite part of the trip was the kayaking because I found it the most fun. I think the most memorable part of the trip however was getting lost on an island with Jay, Alex and Gwen for about two hours, during this time I got to know some of them better and because of this am closer with them now than I was before the trip. Although I found walking along the beach for two hours tiring I also found it quite enjoyable at times and it was not a completely horrible experience. In Bangladesh the class trips were often for at least five days and always out of the country so this was not very different for me, also the rooms that we stayed in were a lot nicer than I had expected considering previous accommodations during my class trips. I think the main difference for me was the size of the class, only 19 people were on the trip which really forced us to talk to everyone of our peers at some point on the trip, I personally believe that this was a good thing. Overall I had a great time on the trip and learnt a lot, I am happy I got the chance to do this and can’t wait until next year’s week without walls.

Audrey:

I think that this trip was meaningful because being all together for 5 days in a place outside of school makes you a whole different person. You get to know how people truly act and it’s true that they were some changes

in how people act, there was more freedom, fun, challenges and we also got to know some people outside of ISD community. The challenging part was when we were on horse carriages the wood part in the back (the part that holds the end of the carriage) broke! Me and Mariama were in the back and it was such a scary ride because we had to hold on to our peers so we could not fall and we had to do that with bumpy moments for 15-20 minutes! We survived though and we also had to wake up really early in the morning sometimes to go to a place and that was a bit annoying but we had to sacrifice some of our sleeps. Our room got flooded too and we had to walk for 2h or something on the beach to our hotel because the bus was taken to go take Sophie. I learnt about myself that I have to be tough no matter what, and maybe sometimes sleeping in the same room of other people gets you closer to them and other times it doesn’t, for me though; it did. Other times you just have to accept how people are, because changing isn’t easy and no one is perfect. In the end, it was interesting and really fun!

AB:

The trip to London was amazing and is an experience that I will never forget. This trip is the first week without walls, in another country, that I have ever done. The air so chill and clean, and personalities of people as hot as the Sahara sun surrounded me like a blanket of happiness.

Going to the different theatre performances was a life time thing. I am a drama student so observing the way other actors used their body and the stage was a lesson well learned. While on the stage you have to speak extremely loud and not turn your back to the audience. Mama Mia and Les Mis is a great example of outstanding acting. I personally liked Les Mis more than Mama Mia, because Les Mis was so deep and powerful.

Meeting new people and having a chance to get to know then is just another bonus of the trip. You quickly see who your friends are when you enter the London Dungeon. Horror everywhere you notice who your buddy is by just looking at your arm. The person who is ripping your arm off is a friend. The wax museum was a cool place to go see some of life’s most famous people not so alive.

The responsibility of your money all depends on you. I felt like an adult when I ate, because it was only me to look after myself and tell myself if I was doing the right thing. Before the trip I was wondering what would happen if my parents go away, now I know that I will be fine just on my own.

Everything was beautiful in London and I was disappointed that we had to go back to Senegal. Through the Eye of London

I see Big.The clock standing straight

Answering my question.Cold air and warm hearts.

Stiff as sculptures, but aliveAs flowing rivers.

Malik:

Our trip to the palmarins was an unforgettable experience for me and my friends. On this trip i realized many things i would never have thought of about Senegal, and my friends. For my friends, i saw a different side to each and every one of them. For example, Dylan. At school i see this quiet and genatl person but on the trip, i see this wild african that i would have never expected. Anoter thought i would have never expected about Senegal is how amazing Sina Saloum was to be in this country. I’ve experienced actions that i’ve never done before like kayaking. Kayaking was the funnest thing about that trip for me and many others. For some it was the first time doing it. This was my second time doing it and i think that with my friends, it was ten times better. I think the meaning of this trip was to experience feeling with your peers outside of school. To do fun activities together not just inside of school. Though, there was some challenging parts on this trip. We had to figure out a way to live with each other boys, and that was really hard. There was a mess everywhere. One thing that suprised me is how different the people are there. They take life and nature so beautifully. What makes me say this is for example, when we were walking on the mangroves, he would just enjoy himself looking at birds as if it were some real beauty and when we saw these sacred baobab trees that you can make a wish in, he treated all of this as if it were life to him. Overall,this

trip was very meaningful for me. It teached us how to interact with your peers outside of school and to have fun with them. Even though there was some bad moments, it was an unforgettable and amazing trip. Anthea:

On our trip to London, we did so much and saw so much that it felt like we were there for weeks. At the beginning of the trip when we first arrived, you could easily tell that everyone was absolutely exhausted. The flight was so long, and there was so much noise from the people at the front that I couldn’t sleep. So as you can imagine when we read the schedule for that day I was not only excited but really motivated. The first day we went to this workshop where we met and learned a dance number from the amazing musical, “Mamma Mia.” When I heard that we could be learning this dance I was VERY skeptical because I honestly HATE dancing. And when I found out that we’d be dancing with one of the actors from the show I was really nervous. After the hour was done and I was all sweaty, we returned to get ready for the show. At this point I was so excited and so enthused about this show that all the exhaustion was gone. When the show started and went on I saw all the kids in our group dancing and singing to the songs. The next day we were going to see “Les Miserables.” Which I had heard of before and knew a few of the songs from that too. We went to the workshop to focus on the acting side of the performance, not just the dancing. We did a few short performances during the workshop which I found a lot easier than the Mamma Mia dancing. We later on returned to the hotel and went to the show. The show was amazing really dramatic and sad, but none the less, amazing. The next day we were going to the show “She Stoops to Conquer.” Before the show in the morning we went to ANOTHER workshop where we learned Stage Combat. The instructor was incredible and so funny. This workshop was my favorite because we learned so much in such a small amount of time. The show after that was a bit confusing but still quite good. The next day we went on a bus tour of London which I thought was amazing because I met so many people and everyone liked my panda hat, and even asked to take photos with me. On Thursday we went to London Dungeon which was so amazing and scary and fascinating. Probably one of my favorite things we did besides the shows. This was all about the scary aspects to London’s history. I loved this because I am a bit morbid and love history like that. After the Dungeon we had a free day. I went out with some friends and waited until 4 where I would meet up with my dad, because he was in town working. And grab some dinner with him. My overall time in London was incredible and I would go back again in a heart beat.

Moibanda Rogers:

During the Sine Saloum trip i experienced that if your with a bunch of people not all the time you’ll tend to get your own way some times you’ll have to listen to other peoples ideas to be able to stay in one peace. One of the main things that i learnt on this trip was that in life you have to learn to open your self no new thoughts and new cultures in order for you to be able to live in one environment, because if you make yourself seemed as if your trapped in a box you wont be able to handle some situations in life. Another thing that i learnt on this field trip is not to judge a book by its cover, because some times the way a certain person acts in school would some time tend to

differ depending one the situation. On this trip the most challenging thing for me was is having to listen to several different ideas and combine them to make one decision, and personally that's hard because everyone would want their own idea to be put in place. Mariama:

During the trip learned about a lot of different things. I learned about people’s real personalities, it’s like there are completely different people you thought they were, but in reality it’s just that you didn’t really know them. I Learned a lot about the environment in the area for example we discussed a lot about the mangroves and the shell, including the salt and birds surrounding Sine Saloum. The food was quite good, I finally tasted squid, my brother has always wanted me to try squid, I was too disgusted, but I finally gave it a try when I saw my friends giving it a try as well, even after our horrible experience with the squid dissection, truly revolting. Squid actually tastes good. On the other with the people, I learned some things about some that got me annoyed, even though people might not have seen my annoyance it was still there. I guess that’s what happens when you have to live eith someone with a week, you learn a lot about them. I did find the organization quite sloppy, things that were supposed to be exciting or fun turned out kind of boring, which sucked. But in all the trip was fun and I enjoyed it. Sophie:

the last week we are going to the fiel treep in sine-saloum that was very funny. during we are leaned a different thing about the magrove the fish and a lot other thing. without this we have cooperation their with a nother shcool who name “academy of fatick” we was going their we have met with the all student , the teacher and the principal after we are playing soccer before playing we asking them some questions like how old are you what is your favory... something like that. But unfortunately i don’t doing the kayaking because i was late i just said only what i experienced but anyway i am going. in sine saloum we knowed the serere culture we saw one of the great baobab in senegal.\ Flemy:

The Sine-Saloum trip was really awesome. We got to discover stuffs and new activites, learnt more about the senegalese culture and the most important, get to know more about each other. This may make it sound boring, but we had at least 2 activities per day besides eating and a lot of free-time before lunch and before dinner. Thanks to the Mangrove walk were actually had to walk in mud for almost an hour, we learnt more about ecology and how important the Mangrove is for the senegalese people. We also played football (soccer) against a local team. Playing football is also a way to exchange, but without having to talk so their isn’t even any language problem. So finally I can finish by saying that this whole trip was about exchanging. Aicha: thye Sine Saloum trip was a lo (Aicha is still working on her writing) Dylan:

The “Week Without Walls” trip to Sine Saloum will be a highlight of my 9th grade year. It was not only fun, but served as a great educational and social experience. Not only do I now know more about Senegal, but I also know more about my classmates. Although the trip overall was amazing, I had a few favorite activities. Kayaking in the mangroves was one of my favorite activities. It not only allowed the group to explore in a new and interesting environment, but made fun by itself. Some became stuck in the undergrowth or beached in shallow waters. Shells lined the river banks and made maneuvering difficult. Through the screams and pleads for help, everyone seemed to be having a good time.

Aside from group activities, individually I learned more about Senegal. We visited a local museum where our guide showed us various tools and methods used throughout history for survival. One simple tool removed the seeds from picked cotton, similar to a cotton gin. Another tool was placed on a calf to prevent it from getting milk

from it’s mother. Traditional food was also prepared for the group, along with foreign dishes like fries. From little things such as eating out every night, we saw more of village life. Not once did someone try to sell me something, which is more than common in Dakar. By the end of the week, I was more than ready to return home. But from this experience, I have learned a lot about my peers, Senegal and even myself.

Soccer game with the local school children